How the news works from a South Bend perspective

Spotlight

There are a lot of journalist movies out there, but my favorite is Spotlight. If you want to get a sense of the nuts and bolts of investigative reporting, check it out.

“It’s An Honor” by Jimmy Breslin

The best way to understand the news is to read it. I love this classic column by the legendary Jimmy Breslin, published in the New York Herald Tribune after JFK’s assassination. It’s a great reminder that news doesn’t just have to be about famous people.

Tom French on Narrative Journalism

As a student at IU, I was lucky enough to take classes from Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom French. In this short video, he shares some golden nuggets of journalistic insight.

The Elements of Style

I still keep this slim volume by William Strunk on my desk. It’s the writer’s bible—especially when it comes to understanding grammar, style and form.

Hoosiers by James H. Madison

If you want to understand a place, you must understand its history. In my years as a journalist, no book helped me understand the context of my reporting more than this one.

Nonfiction Writing Suite

The best way to get better at writing is to write—a lot. In journalism school, I found classes to be a wonderful way to stay accountable. If you want to start sharpening your own skills, IUSB offers this relatively inexpensive suite of writing courses.